Buckle



Au .4,'1931. came. 1,817,440

BUCKLE Filed Dec. 20, 1930 Patented Aug. 4 1 9 31 UNITED STATES- cnmronn G. xme, or rnovrnnncn, nnonn rsmuin- 4 ncome Application filed December 20, 193e, Serial no} 503,695.

My invention relates to buckles, and more especially to friction-lock buckles for' use on shoes, althoughv it is capable of'appllcationto tongue-buckles and to belt, harness, and

b othertypes of buckles. y

' Shoe buckles are in general attached to. the shoe by sewing, and it has been found that the retailer is usually obliged to re-sew them to the shoes because they are not al- .10 ways in the proper position for the partlcularwearero a given shoe.

' It is therefore the obgect of my invent1on to provide a buckle, or example a shoe buckle that may be removably and ad ustably attached to the shoe without sewlng,

and generally, to provide a buckle that may be removably and adjustably attached to a strapby mechanical means.

With this object in view,

comprises a U-shaped strap-attaching tongue which is hung on thetongue bar and disposed on. the inner face of'the buckle frame, extending longitudinally thereof,

whereby one of the shoe straps,or in the case 7 95 of a belt, one of the ends of said belt, may

be attached to. the buckle by threading said tongue through closely-spaced holes therein.

Preferably, the free end of said strap-attaching tongue is provided with means such as 0 a knobor transversely-disposed lug, for preventing the removal of. said tongue from said strap forces exerted in the direction of the lengt of the tongue.

In one form of my lnventlon the strap- L attaching tongue is provided at one end with aresilientclip arranged to spring'over the tongue bar, and in the case of a tonguebuckle, such clip may be bifurcated so that the two prongs thereof lie on either-side of ml the usual buckle tongue. 'In applying my invention to a shoe buckle, -I prefer to'eliminate the usual buckle tongue and employ buckles of the friction-lock type. I

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification- Figure 1 is a plan view of a friction-lock buckle embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a lon'tudinal section Fig. 3 is a plan view with moved; l 7

thereof said buckle;

embodying my. invention;

my invention the straps re- Fig. 4 is'a plan view ofv the inner face of I Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5+5 ofFig.6; H I

Fig. 6 is a plan viewof a tongue-buckle Fig. 7 is a section'takenon the line i5 5 of Fig. 6, with the straps and tongue removed; V i V V Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 are fragmentary views of modifications In the particular drawings selected for morefully disclosing the principle of my invention and which are to be taken as illustrative'only and not as restrictive, 10 represents the frame of a friction lock buckle consisting in the present instance of a rectangular outer member, the longer sides of which are connected by'the inner trans-f verse member 11 which is provided with the oppositely-disposed indentations '12, '12 disposed longitudinally so as to form the centrally-arranged transverse tongue-bar 13. It is to be understood, however, that this particular arrangement is not essential and that the necessary elements only are the frame, the tongue-bar, and the openings 14', 15'1between the shorter sidesof the frame and the tongue-bar for receiving the strap and frictionally locking the same in the usual well known manner. f In orderto attach the buckle toa shoe or; to a'shoe strap such as -17 without sewing, I provide a strap-attaching tongue 18 hun on the bar l3 in any suitable manner, an in the present instancesaid tongue is formed 7 with an eye 19 which encloses said bar. The

strap-attaching tongue is disposedon the inner face of 'theframe, extends longitu- 9 clinally thereof when said buckle isattached to the. strap andterminates in a transversely disposed lug '20. In the presentinstanc e the tongue 181s U-shaped', consisting ofa horilzontal portion, substantially parallel to the face of the frame whenfin position ofattachment, and two end portions 'substantiah 1Y at right ang thereto, the Outer end portion terminating in the lug 20, or the balla shaped knob 20: shown in Figs.8 andfl9, which knob, as shown at 20 in Figs. 10 and 11, may have its forward portion flattened and the inner end-portion terminating in the eye 19 which provides the pivotal connection of the tongue to the buckle-frame.

The strap 17, which in the present instance represents one of the straps of a shoe, is provided with closely spaced holes 21, through two of which the tongue 18 is threaded in order to attach the buckle there- A the eye thereof, would readily draw said strgfil off said tongue.

'en a shoe fitted with my improved buckle is purchased by a customer, the buckle may readily be removed from the strap 17 by drawing the free end thereof downwardly and toward the lug, and the buckle then reattached in adjusted position to suit the foot of the purchaser, whereas heretofore the readjustment of such a buckle entailed cutting the stitches and then re sewing the buck e to the strap in the desired position.

My invention, however, is not limited to shoe buckles or to buckles of the frictionlock ty 'e. In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 I show a tongue-buckle of the usual well known type consisting of the frame 22, tongue 23 and tongue-bar 24 to which tongue-bar the U-shaped strap-attaching tongue 25 is removably clipped by means of the resilient bifurcated clipf 26 formed on the inner end thereof, said clip being arranged to spring over the tongue-bar on either side of the tongue 23 in a manner that will be obvious.

As described above in connection'with Fig. 1, thestrap 17 which may be a shoe strap, or one end of a belt, is secured to the buckle by threading the tongue 25 through the holes 21 thereof and the free end of the strap 16 is fpassed through the buckle, tightened and held in positionin the usual way by the regular buckle-tongue '23.

Having thus described illustrative embodiments of my invention without however limiting the same thereto, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A buckle comprising a buckle-frame and a tongue for remov'ab'ly and adjustably attaching said buckle to a strap, said tongue being U-shaped and comprising a'portion extending longitudinally of said strapwheii in position of attachment and two end-portions substantially at right angles to said longitudinal portion, the inner end-portion terminating in means for pivotally attaching saidto'ngue to said buckle-frame, said tongue being constructed and arranged to be threaded through two longitud1nally-spaced holes in the end of the strap to which said buckle and a tongue for removably and adjustably attaching said buckle to a strap, said tongue being U-shapedand comprising aportion extending longitudinally of said strap when in position of attachment and two end-portions substantially at right angles to said longitudinal portion, the inner end-portion terminating in a resilient eyeior removably and pivotally attaching said tongue to said buckle-frame, said tongue being constructed and arranged to be threaded through two longitudinallyspaced holes in the end of the strap to which said buckle is to be attached, one of said end-portions being disposed in one of said holes and the other in the next adjacent hole when said tongue is in position of attachment, and means on the I outer end-portion of said tongue for preventing the removal of said strap from said tongue by a pullon said strap in the direction of the length of said tongue. g

3. A buckle. comprising a buckle-frame and a tongue for removably and adjustably attaching said buckle to a strap, said tongue being U-shaped and comprising a portion extending longitudinally of said strap when in position of attachment and two end-portions substantially at right angles to said longitudinal portion, the inner end-portion terminating inmeans 'for pivotally attaching said tongue to said buckle-frame, said tongue being constructed and arranged to be threaded through two longitudinally spaced holes in the end of the strap to which said buckle is, to beattachechone of said end-portions'being disposed in one of said holes and the other in the next adjacent hole when said tongue is in position of attachment, and a lug on the outer end portion of said tongue, said lug extending transversely ofsaid end portion.

4. A buckle comprising a buckle-frame and a tongue for removably and adjustably attaching said buckle to a strap, said'tongue being U-shaped and comprising a portion extending longitudinally of said strap when in position of attachment and two end-pore tions substantially at, right angles to said longitudinal portion, the inner end-portion terminating inmeans for pivotally attaching said tongueto said; buckleirame, said tongue being constructed and arranged, to

lUO

be threaded through two longitudinallyspaced holes in the end of the strap to which said buckle is to be attached, one of said end-portions being disposed in one of said holes and the other in the next adjacent hole when said tongue is in position of attachment, and a knob on the outer end portion of said tongue.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 16th day of December, 1930.

CLIFFORD G. KING. 

